Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes

Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes latest album, Civilized Man, was recorded in Nashville’s own Beech House Studios. With member’s home towns spanning the country, the four piece made the group decision to permanently relocate to the Tennessee city, where they worked with producer Mark Nevers (Yo La Tengo) to put together their debut LP.

Civilized Man doesn’t sound like a first attempt, however. Talent has been brewing in Ellsworth’s band for years, apparent in single-ready tracks “Shoe Fits” and “Bleeding Tongue.” While “Shoe Fits” puts the band’s ear for pop melodies and catchy hooks on the main stage, the band shows no fear in genre-bending. Other tracks on Civilized Man go all-out blues rock, while even more allow Ellsworth’s soulful voice to fill the lime light while sparse instrumentation fill the gaps.

Ellsworth isn’t afraid to show off his voice, as the singer/songwriter had been a participant on NBC’s The Sing-Off. Singing a cappella with a group known simply as The Collective, Ellsworth lasted six episodes before being voted off, returning one more time for the program’s Christmas special.

Praise for Civilized Man has hardly been difficult to find. Amazon MP3 named the album 76th on their chart for top 100 albums of 2011, while their single “Shoe Fits” made it all the way to 7th on the site’s singles rankings. In February, Civilized Man found its way to number 18 on Billboard’s Heatseeker’s charts.

Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes have strung together a list of tour dates this November, making their way through the midwest before taking a trip down the west coast with shows in Washington and California. To see if the band will be coming to a venue near you, head on over to their website, right here.